Friday, October 8, 2010

Can you believe September is already over?The summer flew by so quickly!Before we know it, it will be Christmas—ah!

So, how did your emergency preparedness goals of getting your two week supply of water go last month? Are you sufficiently prepared with enough water for your emergency drinking, cooking, cleaning and washing needs? If so, give yourself a big pat on the back!

Now that it is October we are going to be focusing on another VERY important part of your storage needs, and that is WHEAT.

OCTOBER GOAL: Obtain your families 3 month supply of wheat (25lbs. per person).This will average about $7-8 per person, depending where you buy your wheat. If you live in Utah, buy 45 lbs. of wheat already sealed in a pail/bucket for ONLY $12.98 at Maceys and Fresh Market (this is an amazing price!!). If you live in another area with an Associated Food's Store that is having their case lot, check and see how much their 45 lb. pails are (ex: St. George has a Lin's grocery store that is selling their 45 lb. pails for around $15--still a great deal!). If you do not live in Utah or surrounding areas, you can buy your wheat in bulk 25lb. bags at the nearest LDS Dry Pack Cannery nearest you. Visit their website for locations and information on purchasing wheat. They sell it for under $7 for a 25lb. bag--great deal! If this is not an option you can always buy your wheat online at stores such as www.honeyvillegrain.com or www.pleasanthillgrain.com.Wheat to me, is the next most important item to store in your food storage next to water. Why you ask? Wheat is an important protein that has most of the nutrients, vitamins and minerals that your body needs for survival (wheat sprouts containing 2900 calories produce 100% of the 50 essential nutrients a person needs to stay healthy. Items that would enhance a persons diet of wheat would include oil, dairy, flax seed and leafy greens. Wheat and these extra items would make for a complete and healthy diet. Info is from the book Making the Best of Basics by James Stevens.)

There are very few items we can store in our food storage that would give our bodies as many vital nutrients than wheat will. Our families could literally live off of wheat and water if we had to. Yes, it is not likely that we will have to live on wheat and water alone (thankfully!), but...it is important to have items in your long term storage that would be nutritionally beneficial to you and your family if you had to live out of your storage for an extended period of time.
Why is wheat so valuable?

*Wheat is a whole grain that will last for over 30 years if stored in a cool, dry place.
*Wheat has ALL of the following vitamins and minerals in EACH kernel; iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, copper, selenium, manganese, zinc, thiamin, niacin, ribiflovin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin E, folate, fiber and fat.
*One cup of hard wheat has 632 calories, 3.7 grams of fat, 130.6 g. of carbohydrates, 23.4 g. of fiber, and 26.9 g. of protein. That is a lot of nutrients in one cup!
*A study by James Stevens who wrote the book Making the Best of the Basics, found that it takes 130 slices of white bread to equal the nutrients in one slice of whole wheat bread.

*Simply swapping white for whole wheat bread you cut your chances of heart disease risk by 20% (according to The Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003).

*Fiber help you feel full and make it easier for you to control your weight.

*Fiber reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

*There are no chemicals, bleaches, or additives added to your freshly ground wheat flour.
*Wheat can be sprouted and used on salads, in smoothies, or put in soups/stews to add even more nutrients to your diet. (More on sprouting coming later this month!)
*Wheat can be used as a meat extender. Use in your ground hamburger, sausage or turkey or add to soups and stews to extend your meat.

What is wheat?

Wheat kernels are made up of three parts; the endosperm, germ, and bran (outer layer). The wheat kernel can be ground into flour with a manual grinder or an electric grinder. This flour can then be used in your everyday cooking needs.

White flour verses wheat flour?

Regular white all purpose flour is only made from one portion of the wheat kernel—the endosperm. When the bran and germ are removed from the wheat grain, over 80% of the fiber, nutrients and antioxidants are also removed.White flour is nutritionally useless and breaks down in the body as sugar.The body cannot tell the difference between eating a spoonful of sugar or a slice of white bread.This causes all kinds of problems with a person’s insulin levels, pancreas, and your metabolism.Eating whole grain flour is MUCH healthier for your diet.For more information on the differences between white and wheat flour, visit the following website http://www.wheatfoods.org/AboutWheat-what-is-wheat/Index.htm.

How to use the wheat in your storage:1-Begin substituting your ground wheat flour in the place of white flour in your recipes. If a recipe calls for flour, whether it is a cookie, cake, bread, pasta, dessert, etc., use your wheat flour instead (or at least 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat flour). Keep your wheat flour on hand and accessible in your kitchen. Grind a large amount of wheat flour so you can store it in your freezer or pantry and make it easy to throw into your recipes. Some GREAT recipes to use your wheat flour with can be downloaded from the below link: Whole Wheat Bread, Wheat Tortillas, and Apple Wheat Pancakes.

2-Learn to make recipes that use your wheat without having a wheat grinder. Wheat can be cooked by boiling or crock potting it until it puffs up and is tender (it takes about 2-8 hours) Download some simple recipes with the link below for Wheat Blender Waffles/Pancakes, Wheat Berry Cereal, and Wheat Berry Salad with Apples & Cashews that use the whole wheat kernel.

My favorite recipe is for wheat blender waffles. This is a common recipe on the web to use your whole wheat kernels, but I feel I have adapted the recipe to be PERFECT! Below is my finalized version of this recipe that works out perfectly every time--soft, chewy, and healthy!

Wheat Blender Waffles

(or Pancakes)

1 ½ c. hard red or white wheat kernels

2 ¼ c. warm water & ¼ c. dry powdered milk (or 2 ¼ c. milk)

3 eggs

1 t. salt

2 T. sugar

1 T. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/3 c. oil

1/3-12 c. flour (depending how thick you like your batter--waffle batter should be a little more runny)

Put the wheat, water and powdered milk into a blender and blend on high speed for 3-4 minutes, or until kernels seem to be smooth. Then add the eggs, salt, sugar, powder, soda, oil and flour to the blender. Blend for another 1-2 minutes on low until batter is incorporated. Pour into a greased waffle iron or griddle and cook until waffles are ready to serve.

*(Right) Wheat Cranberry Salad--a really different and delicious way to use your cooked wheat. Perfect as a side dish or for a wedding/baby shower (sorry for the bad picture, my camera is still broken :)

For those with a wheat allergy, visit this site for some wheat substitutes that can be stored in your food storage.

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Welcome!

Thank you for joining this blogging journey where I share my favorite recipes, meal planning tips, grocery deals, family traditions and more food storage information than you will know what to do with! Thanks for visiting and feel free to ask questions, leave comments and have fun along the way! Shandra